Box Office Battle: ‘Avatar 2’ wins storm-challenged Christmas weekend

"Puss in Boots: The Last Wish" placed number 2 with a $20M debut

"Box Office Battle" is The Fly’s weekly roundup of what movies topped the weekend’s box office.

Disney’s (DIS) “Avatar: The Way of Water” won this year’s storm-challenged Christmas weekend, with Storm Elliott bringing freezing temperatures, high winds, and snow. Revenue for Christmas Day is estimated to be at $44M, according to Comscore, the worst showing in the last 20 years, excluding 2020. “Avatar: The Way of Water” placed number 1 at the domestic box office with an estimated $90M for the four-day holiday weekend. Overseas, the movie grossed $168.6M for the three-day period for a foreign cume of $601.7M.

BOX OFFICE RUNNER-UPS: Comcast (CMCSA) subsidiary Universal’s “Puss in Boots: The Last Wish” placed number 2 with a projected four-day holiday debut of $20M. Behind if was TriStar Pictures’ “Whitney Houston: I Wanna Dance with Somebody,” with a $6.8M debut for the four days. Paramount’s (PARA) “Babylon” opened at number 4 with $5.3M. Rounding out the top five, Disney’s “Black Panther: Wakanda Forever” earned an estimated four-day total of $4.7M as it nears the $800M mark.

CHRISTMAS WEEKEND BOX OFFICE:

1. “Avatar: The Way of Water” – $90M
2. “Puss in Boots: The Last Wish” – $20M
3. “Whitney Houston: I Wanna Dance with Somebody” – $6.8M
4. “Babylon” – $5.3M
5. “Black Panther: Wakanda Forever” – $4.7M

Other publicly traded companies in filmmaking include Sony (SONY), Warner Bros.’ (WBD), and Lionsgate’s (LGF.A).

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